They change all the time and sometimes even unexpectantly.
When I was little, I wanted to be a princess. Cute, right?
When I was 13 I wanted to be discovered on the street and be either an actress or a singer… or maybe even both. Every teenage dream for sure!
When we were little we knew how to dream big and it felt good and no one judged us for it. Amazing!
But then we are required to grow up and live within what society deems to be the “norm” or what every citizen “should” be doing.
On one hand, they are saying to follow your dream BUT you cannot make a living with that dream! So, learn a trade, go to work and then…well then work on your dream.
Bullocks!
Your dad followed his dream and became a doctor and wants you to do the same because being a doctor is a respectable profession but really all you want to do is be a dancer.
Your mom was a teacher and perhaps she wants the same for you, but really you just want to travel by sharing your soul in blues and jazz bars traveling in your airstream.
It’s all hogwash.
Do what you want to do because if you don’t – some part of you will never be happy and satisfied.
When I graduated high school, I wanted to be a veterinarian assistant. It would be an amazing job where I could care and love animal and wouldn’t really have to deal with people.
I did not finish learning the trade and worked a job here or there or not at all if I was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom. What I did always have though was my creativity.
Somewhere down the line, I wanted to earn a degree in graphic design. I loved the techy side of building websites and creating images. However, due to some life circumstances and lack of transportation, I was unable to graduate. So, I worked at Wal-Mart because the kids still had to be fed – and I crochet.
Eventually, to support my husband at the time in his business endeavors, I thought well, earning my accounting degree would be helpful to his business and create a family business. Although his business did not pan out, I graduated and worked as a bookkeeper for a while only to realize that I HATED sitting in the cubicle for 8 hours a day. I needed freedom. I needed to create.
I taught myself how to wood burn, began to macramé and continued to crochet. I decided to create my first business – Hippie’s Creations. A place where I would sell my creative ideas and make a living. This, however, was tough work … more work than I had ever envisioned, but I did not give in.
Then my son was born with a rare disorder and life got crazy for a while, but that craziness really taught me that I NEED to pursue my dream. When you are faced with a life and death kind of situation you learn just how fragile life is and that happiness is such an amazing and incredible part of it – and that the happiness IS following your dreams or goals.
I returned to school and graduated with my master’s in counseling, but I wouldn’t work in this field for some time. I believed my dream to own an artisan store in which I had the opportunity to not only showcase my work but other local artists. I believed that it could be one of the few attractions in the town I live. However, after one year I realized that as a single parent of two it was way too demanding and draining.
So, I decided to work as an intensive in-home therapist, and guess what. I LOVED IT. It was the most rewarding thing I had ever done aside from my craft and being a mother. I learned so much about myself and humanity and the importance of having dreams and goals. I finally was doing what my core always knew all along, which is to serve others – to help them live healthier lives.
I also realized that dreams and goals change and that it is okay to make new decisions about the direction you want your life to go. The game changer is simply to do it!
So please pursue your dreams and allow them to shape
